I arrived at Incheon on Sunday, Dec 2 after a long day flying from Kalispell, Montana. I was there to visit my family before moving here to Korea. My new apartment mate 최병길, picked me up from the airport and together we drove to our home in Songdo 송도 http://english.incheonexpo2009.com/info/news.html?db=eng_news&mari_mode=view@view&no=508. We had a nice dinner at a local restaurant of 갈비당 before arriving at the apartment. 병길 had moved into the place a week before I arrived. The apartment is new, somewhat furnished, large and nice. We each have our own bathroom. There's a stove, kimchi refrigerator, upright refrigerator and a very long balcony that includes a built-in planter bed and hose for watering. It's a ten minute walk to work. 병길 and I both work for a private Korean company called Korea Environment and Merchandise Testing Institute http://english.kemti.org/.
Songdo is much more developed than when I saw it over a year ago when I came on my own to tour Celltrion and inquire about the possibility of working there. There are new office buildings, research facilities, corner stores and shops.
We live on the fourth floor of a 1o story apartment building. What is so cool though, is our deck faces the tops of the pine trees, a sight we'd miss if any higher. They are so beautiful in the morning when the orange light from the rising sun illuminates them in profile.
Before 9 AM on Monday I went into the office and was introduced to about 30 employees or so. Something a bit unusual about our office is that we take off our shoes and wear slippers in the office, a measure to reduce the risk of contamination. It's kind of nice and gives a more casual and relaxed feeling for the employees. Our dress code is also not as strict as I expected, coming from Berkeley, CA to Korea. That afternoon, I went to the headquarters in Seoul 서울and met a number of senior management officers including the President and Vice President. I wore my suit of course.
That evening, I went out for 소주 와 삼엽살 with a bunch of the guys from work. Then we had to go get a beer. I was exhausted by the time I got home!
진짜은이어도가 있어요. I had seen a very strange but interesting movie from 1977, which seems to be doing the Korean film festival circuit in the US, called "Iodo" 이어도 a couple weeks before I left for Korea at San Francisco State University. I was surprised to discover 이어도 is a real place and a submerged island visible only during storms with high waves. This is why the legend says that if you see it, you won't return. http://ieodo.nori.go.kr/eng/intro2_4.asp
In the mornings I get up early and watch EBS, Korean PBS, in my effort to learn Korean. What I've discovered is that Korean for Thai Speakers and Hanja for Korean School Children is very helpful. English for Koreans is not, because the Korean teachers speak way too fast and write too sloppily for me to read. I especially like the Hanja program and learning Chinese characters is important to understanding Korean.
The home I lived in before I came to Korea is in West Oakland, California. Compared to Oakland, 송도 is safe and clean. Little kids are sometimes running around at night unaccompanied with no concern. But watch out crossing the street, there's no rule to stop at a red light when making a right turn!
The rest of the week was about getting settled in, getting my computer at work set up, a trip to E-Mart, finding key merchants like the hardware store and the bicycle shop, getting my folding bicycle reassembled, a trip to the immigration office to apply for my resident card, and figuring out where the recycling goes. My only complaint is I'm getting tired of 고주장 in every meal. But I will have to get used to that. But speaking of food, it has been generally quite good. I do enjoy Korean food. Saturday night, after getting my bike assembled, I attempted to find Incheon Chinatown. http://www.ichinatown.or.kr/ I'm not used to riding in this cold weather and my toes were freezing before I found it. I need to wear my heavy socks next time. I had to retreat but I will try again soon.
Songdo is much more developed than when I saw it over a year ago when I came on my own to tour Celltrion and inquire about the possibility of working there. There are new office buildings, research facilities, corner stores and shops.
We live on the fourth floor of a 1o story apartment building. What is so cool though, is our deck faces the tops of the pine trees, a sight we'd miss if any higher. They are so beautiful in the morning when the orange light from the rising sun illuminates them in profile.
Before 9 AM on Monday I went into the office and was introduced to about 30 employees or so. Something a bit unusual about our office is that we take off our shoes and wear slippers in the office, a measure to reduce the risk of contamination. It's kind of nice and gives a more casual and relaxed feeling for the employees. Our dress code is also not as strict as I expected, coming from Berkeley, CA to Korea. That afternoon, I went to the headquarters in Seoul 서울and met a number of senior management officers including the President and Vice President. I wore my suit of course.
That evening, I went out for 소주 와 삼엽살 with a bunch of the guys from work. Then we had to go get a beer. I was exhausted by the time I got home!
진짜은이어도가 있어요. I had seen a very strange but interesting movie from 1977, which seems to be doing the Korean film festival circuit in the US, called "Iodo" 이어도 a couple weeks before I left for Korea at San Francisco State University. I was surprised to discover 이어도 is a real place and a submerged island visible only during storms with high waves. This is why the legend says that if you see it, you won't return. http://ieodo.nori.go.kr/eng/intro2_4.asp
In the mornings I get up early and watch EBS, Korean PBS, in my effort to learn Korean. What I've discovered is that Korean for Thai Speakers and Hanja for Korean School Children is very helpful. English for Koreans is not, because the Korean teachers speak way too fast and write too sloppily for me to read. I especially like the Hanja program and learning Chinese characters is important to understanding Korean.
The home I lived in before I came to Korea is in West Oakland, California. Compared to Oakland, 송도 is safe and clean. Little kids are sometimes running around at night unaccompanied with no concern. But watch out crossing the street, there's no rule to stop at a red light when making a right turn!
The rest of the week was about getting settled in, getting my computer at work set up, a trip to E-Mart, finding key merchants like the hardware store and the bicycle shop, getting my folding bicycle reassembled, a trip to the immigration office to apply for my resident card, and figuring out where the recycling goes. My only complaint is I'm getting tired of 고주장 in every meal. But I will have to get used to that. But speaking of food, it has been generally quite good. I do enjoy Korean food. Saturday night, after getting my bike assembled, I attempted to find Incheon Chinatown. http://www.ichinatown.or.kr/ I'm not used to riding in this cold weather and my toes were freezing before I found it. I need to wear my heavy socks next time. I had to retreat but I will try again soon.
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